Students and researchers at Swansea University will benefit from a newly opened research centre designed to bolster research through academia-industry partnerships. The centre will enable collaborations in advanced engineering, manufacturing, modelling and materials.

The Institute for Innovative Materials,

Processing and Numerical Technologies (IMPACT), a centre of excellence in the College of Engineering, was officially launched at Swansea University Bay Campus. The new Engineering North building houses the engineering research institute. This flagship building was officially opened

by Mark Drakeford, First Minister of Wales, at a ceremony on 6 February. The event marked the official launch of IMPACT, with a plaque unveiling within the central atrium of the building. Drakeford said: ‘Swansea University is

nurturing the Brunels, Teslas and Lovelaces of tomorrow, through IMPACT. The future is brighter not only for the students who pass through these doors but for Wales, which will benefit from their knowledge and innovations.’ ‘As the world faces multiple challenges, such as climate change – it’s the thinkers, the

MODELLING AND SIMULATION SoftInWay partners with Siemens

SoftInWay, a provider of turbomachinery design and analysis software, partnered with Siemens to expand its software portfolio. Dr Leonid Moroz, CEO at

SoftInWay, said: ‘In today’s digital world the design process is interconnected and interdisciplinary. We have seen through many of our clients that our own flagship software AxSTREAM is often embedded in a bigger digital design process. While turbomachinery

is the heart of our business, it is often a subsystem of larger systems. The new partnership with Siemens enables us to provide those embedded interdisciplinary solutions for our clients as a single vendor.’ The offering includes software

products from Siemens’ Simcenter brand, namely the multi-physics simulation software STAR-CCM+ as well as Simcenter 3D and Siemens NX, one of the most powerful CAD packages in the market.

customers’ success is our utmost priority. Through the Siemens products, our clients can benefit from cutting edge CAE technology like topology optimisation, non-linear structural analysis and complex CFD such as combustion and acoustics. ‘There is almost no engineering problem we cannot solve now. In the past year, we have made strategic hires to launch this partnership

and expand our engineering know-how; and after quietly kicking off the partnership in November, we’re ready to hit the ground running in the new year marketing a joint solution.’ SoftInWay aims to continue

the trend to faster development cycles and digital design sign-off. The additional insight customers can gain by using these advanced CAE tools leads to an integrated solution to simulate and optimise entire systems and associated components.

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makers and the doers we will look to innovate and help us find solutions for the future. We should be proud that on Wales’ own turf, this centre of excellence will be punching above its weight on the global stage.’ Following the ceremony, guests were

invited to interact with research projects through live demonstrations of some of the current IMPACT related. Attendees were able to learn more about recent developments in robotics and collaborative robotics, Artificial Intelligence, additive manufacturing, the Wind Tunnel (£1.2 million wind tunnel facility, used to study the effects of air moving past solid objects) and the Formula One-styled racing car built to compete in Formula Student (an established educational engineering competition held in Europe). The £35 million IMPACT research

operation, part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government and Swansea University, was designed to allow for emerging research priorities. There are five core research themes: future manufacturing technologies; next-generation materials property measurement; advanced structural materials; thin films and coatings and data-centric engineering.

Professor Johann Sienz, director of

Innovation and Engagement in the College, and Director of IMPACT, said: ‘IMPACT – anchored in the regional innovation ecosystem - supports the global engineering economy through collaborative, fundamental and applied research, development and innovation. Our unique colocation facility means we can offer a transformative research environment for academia-industry partnerships.’ ‘These highly specialised laboratories will bring industry and academia closer together and the funding received from the European Regional Development Fund has greatly contributed to our growth as a leader in our field in the UK and beyond,’ added Sienz. ‘The distinct research infrastructure and ethos of IMPACT will enable a step-change in research and innovation in the College’s already outstanding Materials, Processing and Numerical Technologies research groups. This unique facility will, therefore, help further support Wales as a global destination for innovation in advanced engineering and smart manufacturing.’